FIRST

FIRST

Baltimore Sun photo by Karl Merton Ferron

Both Andy MacPhail and Dan Duquette are starting to look pretty smart: Andy MacPhail got Tommy Hunter and Chris Davis from the Texas Rangers for reliever Koji Uehara last summer and picked up Pedro Strop as the player to be named in the deal that sent Michael Gonzalez to the Rangers. Dan Duquette (pictured) got mixed reviews when he traded No. 1 starter Jeremy Guthrie to the Colorado Rockies for starting pitcher Jason Hammel and hard-throwing reliever Matt Lindstrom. In each case, the O's are smelling like the proverbial rose right now. Hammel just threw seven shutout innings against the Blue Jays to improve to 3-0 with a 1.73 ERA. Hunter is 2-1, Davis is swinging the bat well, Lindstrom has not given up an earned run yet and Strop has popped as a setup man and backup closer.

Both Andy MacPhail and Dan Duquette are starting to look pretty smart: Andy MacPhail got Tommy Hunter and Chris Davis from the Texas Rangers for reliever Koji Uehara last summer and picked up Pedro Strop as the player to be named in the deal that sent Michael Gonzalez to the Rangers. Dan Duquette (pictured) got mixed reviews when he traded No. 1 starter Jeremy Guthrie to the Colorado Rockies for starting pitcher Jason Hammel and hard-throwing reliever Matt Lindstrom. In each case, the O's are smelling like the proverbial rose right now. Hammel just threw seven shutout innings against the Blue Jays to improve to 3-0 with a 1.73 ERA. Hunter is 2-1, Davis is swinging the bat well, Lindstrom has not given up an earned run yet and Strop has popped as a setup man and backup closer. (Baltimore Sun photo by Karl Merton Ferron)

Both Andy MacPhail and Dan Duquette are starting to look pretty smart: Andy MacPhail got Tommy Hunter and Chris Davis from the Texas Rangers for reliever Koji Uehara last summer and picked up Pedro Strop as the player to be named in the deal that sent Michael Gonzalez to the Rangers. Dan Duquette (pictured) got mixed reviews when he traded No. 1 starter Jeremy Guthrie to the Colorado Rockies for starting pitcher Jason Hammel and hard-throwing reliever Matt Lindstrom. In each case, the O's are smelling like the proverbial rose right now. Hammel just threw seven shutout innings against the Blue Jays to improve to 3-0 with a 1.73 ERA. Hunter is 2-1, Davis is swinging the bat well, Lindstrom has not given up an earned run yet and Strop has popped as a setup man and backup closer.